Monday, October 13, 2008

a new friend

i had a really cool conversation today that i wanted to share with you.. we were on matías this morning, pretty much just wandering around, looking for students who were available to talk for a while.. walking through the cafeteria near the arts building, i saw a girl sitting at a table alone with an architectural model next to her! it was soo cool to see an architecture student! i was hesitant to sit down and initiate a conversation with her, because i was nervous about my spanish.. but i told the other guys i would catch up with them in a little bit, took a deep breath, and introduced myself..

we ended up talking for about forty five minutes about architecture, all in spanish! it was incredible.. all my inhibitions about my abilities to speak seemed to vanish, and i felt like i was just having a conversation with a friend.. its hard to describe why this was so significant to me.. i guess the language barrier has been such a huge hindrance in our teams ability to connect with students.. and i feel like today was a real breakthrough for me personally, because i really connected with a salvadorian student in a full-spanish conversation! it was really encouraging at one point, when she actually said i spoke spanish well and she could understand me..

i know this probably seems like a really small thing to be talking about.. and i think it is.. but at the same time, it was huge.. so thank you for rejoicing with me!

4 comments:

gchavoor said...

thats awesome man, glad to hear that the spanish is coming along.

Madison Miller said...

that is really cool! :) i'm sorry you're not able to completely escape architecture though.. that's what i want to do right now!! love you brother!

Traveller said...

I only know you from your blog, but as I was praying for the team this morning, I was so thankful for this friend he gave you. Ministry is exhausting, especially in a foreign language, and you all have to step out and risk being rejected when you step onto campus. It must take a lot of courage. Then I read in Hebrews 3:6 about how WE are Christ's house (His work, His family) if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. So I pray that for your team that you all may hold on to your courage and the hope of which you boast. And from Hebrews 3:14 I pray that you can hold firmly till the end the confidence you had at first.
Marsh (Brenna's mom)

Jeff ("Jefe") Oleson said...

that is significant man, and I'm glad you shared it here, cause I'm not sure I heard it in person. So sweet to see you coming along in Spanish buddy. You're doing really well.